Shishito Hot Pepper
Botanical Name: Capsicum annuum
Description
60 days green, 90 days red. Popular, mildly spicy, Japanese snacking pepper that is an early and prolific producer of green fruit. Fruits are 2-4” long, with thin, wrinkly, glossy walls, and a blunted tip. Shishito peppers are typically harvested green and roasted where they have a mild smokiness, but they will sweeten further as they ripen to a brick red color. Chefs recommended grilling, roasting, or frying these peppers until they are lightly charred, then topping with salt for a delicious appetizer or savory side dish. Shishitos are great in other traditional pepper preparations, including tempura style. Plants branch heavily and put on lots of fruit, so consider staking plants to reduce stem breakage. Experienced shishito eaters know to expect slight variation in heat, with maximum heat comparable to a mild yellow banana pepper. HM
Growing
Growing Instructions (for USDA Zone 5b):
All peppers are warm weather loving plants. Sow seeds indoors 3/15-4/1 into good seed starting mix (we recommend Vermont Compost’s Fort Light). Ideal temperature for germination is 80-90° (use heating mat). Days to germination: 6-28. Once leaves appear, grow plants at 72°. Be sure seedlings have adequate light (a windowsill will not do for peppers) and keep plants from becoming pot-bound because this will permanently stunt plants. If seedlings are getting too big for their pot but the weather is still too cold outside, transplant them into bigger pots. Plant seedlings outside late May into fertile garden soil with lots of compost or decomposed manure. If your soil pH is greater than 7 (which is typical of clay soils in Southeast Michigan) add sulfur to acidify soil. Space plants 1 ½ ft apart.
Harvest:
Harvest peppers when greenish red or completely red ripe. Eat fresh or dried.
Seed Saving Instructions for gardeners:
Peppers are primarily self-pollinating but insects will cause significant cross pollination between pepper varieties. To keep variety pure, cover plants with low tunnels (using thin row cover fabric) to exclude pollinators. Or, isolation distance: 300 ft. Save seeds from the best plants. Save seeds from fully ripe peppers. Process either wet (fresh peppers) or dry (dried peppers). Process hot pepper seeds outdoors wearing rubber gloves and dust mask! Make sure seeds are fully dry before storing.
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